Nigeria’s submission for the International Feature Film category, ‘The Milkmaid’ directed by Desmond Ovbiagele did not make it to the shortlist for the forthcoming Oscars.

The Nigerian Official Selection Committee (NOSC) submitted ‘The Milkmaid’ to the Academy last December in its second attempt to participate in the Oscars following the disqualification of ‘Lionheart‘ its first entry in 2019 for not meeting the non-English dialogue criteria. The Academy had initially listed ‘The Milkmaid’ among other eligible films from 93 countries in the IFF category.

According to the Academy, “Fifteen films will advance to the next round of voting in the International Feature Film category for the 93rd Academy Awards”.

Films from 93 countries were eligible in the category. Academy members from all branches were invited to participate in the preliminary round of voting and must have met a minimum viewing requirement to be eligible to vote in the category. In the nominations round, Academy members from all branches are invited to opt in to participate and must view all 15 shortlisted films to vote.

Shot in Taraba state, ‘The Milkmaid’ addresses the issues faced by women caught in the upheaval of insurgency in rural sub-Saharan Africa using the story of Zainab and her sister who were separated by militants.

The movie examines the trauma of internally displaced persons (IDPs) as well as girls forced into early marriage. It featured Ibrahim Jammal, Maryam Booth as Zainab, Gambo Usman Kona, as well as Anthonieta Kalunta as Aisha.